Meatballs in Healthy White Sauce

These homey, delicious meatballs in white sauce are low in fat, made using a handful of pantry ingredients and ready in just over 30 minutes! Perfect as a healthy weeknight family meal with potatoes or pasta.

You might also like creamy turkey steaks and chicken breast in white sauce.

What I love about these meatballs is not just the fact that they are incredibly soft and come with a delicious sauce that's low in fat yet still creamy, but also the simplicity of the method. For me great flavour is just as important as being able to put a dish together quickly and easily. Especially when in comes to feeding a family. 

You won't need to do much chopping and the meatballs ingredients are mixed together in a food processor, which takes seconds to do and produces super soft meatballs.  Then all you have to do is make the white sauce, add the meatballs and simmer for about 15 minutes.  There is no need to bake or fry the meatballs before adding into the sauce!

Ingredients for meatballs in white sauce

I used ground turkey but any ground meat will work.  Just make sure it has around 7% fat - super lean meat might produce slightly dry meatballs.

My secret to making soft meatballs is to add a soft bun rather than breadcrumbs into the mixture.  The raw onion adds moisture and flavour and apart from some seasoning that's all you need to make these meatballs.

The white sauce is made using a little butter and flour plus a combination of light milk, vegetable stock and white wine. I also added some (naturally low in fat) fromage frais for a bit of tang, as well as mustard and garlic granules for added flavour. 

Step-by-step recipe instructions

1.Tear the bun into small pieces and add to the food processor along with the chopped onion.

2. Pulse until crumbly and moist.

3. Add the ground meat, salt and pepper and pulse a few times until the ingredients are well incorporated (but do not overprocess).

4. Form good size meatballs and set aside.

5. In a large shallow dish melt the butter, add the flour and whisk until smooth. 

6. Add the wine, some of the milk and continue whisking until the mixture thickens.  Gradually add the rest of the milk, stock, mustard and garlic granules and cook until the sauce thickens whisking all the time.  Whisk in the fromage frais and adjust the seasoning if needed.

7. Place the meatballs in the sauce (without overlapping one another), cover and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the meatballs are fully cooked, turning a couple of times.

8. Remove from the heat and serve immediately.

Top tips and FAQs

• Use either turkey, pork, chicken or beef but ensure it's not too lean (I recommend 7% fat content).
• I recommend using a food processor to prepare the meatballs.  The mixture is ready in seconds and your meatballs will be super soft (softer than if you were preparing it with our hands). Also the onion and bread need to be turned into a crumbly, moist mixture and this is best done in a food processor.
• I made my meatballs quite large to make sure they wouldn't be squashed together in my dish (they must not overlap one another). But you can make them a little smaller if using a very large dish if you prefer. 
• You can use low fat creme fraiche or sour cream instead of the fromage frais in the sauce.
•  You can prepare the meatballs 2-3 hours in advance but I do not recommend making them too far in advance. I find that raw onion can often affect the flavour of the meat if left uncooked for too long.
• Best served immediately. Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
• Freeze individual portions in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

Serving suggestions

Serve with boiled potatoes, creamy mashed potatoes, boiled/steamed vegetables, pasta or crusty bread. You could sprinkle some grated parmesan (especially if serving these meatballs with pasta) and scatter fresh herbs (parsley, basil, oregano) over the  top before serving.

For a lighter meal idea serve over spiralised vegetables, such as butternut squash (boiled for 3 minutes) or zucchini (boiled for 30 seconds).

You might also like

• Authentic Polish Meatballs (Pulpety)
• Easy Turkey Meatballs in Tomato Sauce (Healthy)
• Meatballs in Mushroom Sauce (Healthy)
• Healthy Meatball Casserole
• Asian Meatballs with Sweet Chilli Glaze

Check out also my easy tips for making a simple white sauce, as well as this collection of easy chicken recipes.

Keep in touch!

If you make these healthy meatballs in white sauce I'd love to know how they turned out for you. What did you serve them with? Let me know in the comments below, thanks! 

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